Arizona Football: About to stun the Pac-12 as underdogs led by Khalil Tate

Looking at Arizona’s Defense…

Scottie Young Jr. comes back full strength and has also matured a ton. After living through a suspension and hamstring injury last season, Young is proving he is willing and quite able to stand up and fill in for Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles shoes as the leader on defense. He feels being around his teammates and time to progress, he feels he has matured.

The biggest lesson Young took away from last season was being consistent. What motivated him the most is missing being around his teammates, he feels like it’s a family. He is thankful that he was allowed to earn his teammates and coaches trust.

More importantly, Young is also healthy. He had struggled with an injury last season, and he is poised for a great season. When Young is on, he is spectacular! He can really rack up the tackles as he did earlier on in his college career.

Also returning on the defense, are  Colin Schooler and Tony Fields II. These two pulled in awards and are on numerous watch lists ahead of the season. They combined for 208 tackles last season (Schooler 119 + Fields II 89).

The defense also has more experience this season. Justin Belknap, Jalen Cochran, and Finton Connolly are all returning along the defensive line, plus we will finally get a full season of Jalen Harris, and that’s a great thing for the Wildcats.

Plus, we also can’t forget guys like; Lorenzo Burns, Tristan Cooper, McKenzie Barnes and Xavier Bell among others that are returning in the Wildcat secondary.

However, outside of Fields II and Schooler returning, perhaps the biggest returning player is Jace Whittaker. The senior cornerback missed all of last season due to injury, and his absence was sorely felt. In 2019, he will undoubtedly lead this group, and having his maturity and experience back there is going to do wonders for the Cats!

What’s nice to finally have for Arizona, is an abundance of veteran leadership! It seems like it’s been a while since we’ve been blessed to have a solid amount of defensive talent and depth, but perhaps we may have it this year!

Lastly, we also can’t forget about the newcomers either. The Wildcats could get big things from Chris Roland-Wallace, Maurice Gaines and Bobby Wolfe in the secondary, plus they added some nice pieces along the defensive line in Trevon Mason, Myles Tapusoa and Kyon Barrs, and that should help a lot moving forward!

With the players, Arizona should have a vastly improved defensive group!

It all remains to be seen of course, but from where we stand right now, the team seems the healthiest its been in years, and the players and coaches seem more positive than last season. Even though some in the local media seem to love to stir the pot with the fans on the QB depth chart, the national media is focused on Tate and his surrounding cast. The time is right for the Arizona Football team to stun the Pac-12. It’s possible!